Dynamic Business brings you the key startup fundraising from this week.
Rosterfy secures $3 million
Bailador Technology Investments has upped its investment in Rosterfy, a people management software platform, by contributing an additional $3 million. Rosterfy specializes in volunteer and workforce management for not-for-profit organizations, government volunteering bodies, and large-scale events.
Founded in 2015 by Bennett Merriman, Shannan Gove, and Chris Grant, Rosterfy has garnered clients such as Lifeline Australia, OzHarvest, and the St Vincent de Paul Society. This latest funding round has raised the company’s valuation from $12.4 million to $17.1 million, reflecting a 14% increase.
Q-CTRL raises $88 Million in series B funding
Q-CTRL, a Sydney-based quantum software developer, has added $88 million (US$59 million) to its Series B funding, raising the total to $166 million (US$113 million).
The latest funding round was led by UK venture firm GP Bullhound, with new investors including Alpha Edison, Lockheed Martin Ventures, and NTT Finance joining existing backers. The Series B funding has been accumulated over three years, starting with a $35 million raise in late 2021.
Boman Group invests $10 million in OpenAI
In a significant move, Boman Group, a Melbourne-based fund manager, has invested $10 million in OpenAI’s record-breaking US$6.6 billion funding round, which elevated the company’s valuation to US$157 billion. Boman Group’s investment aligns with its “Unicorn strategy,” aimed at supporting late-stage technology scale-ups.
The firm has previously backed notable companies like Airbnb and Klarna and is also involved with various VC funds.
VC funding declines in Australia
The landscape for venture capital in Australia is experiencing a downturn, with total funding for startups dropping to $695 million in the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, the lowest level in several quarters.
Recent data from Cut Through Ventures (CVT) highlights a robust activity in early-stage rounds, particularly from accelerators, which have helped boost seed-stage deals to represent a third of all announced non-accelerator investments. In total, there were 92 venture deals and 39 accelerator rounds in this quarter.
Antler launches $77 million second Australian fund
Antler, a global early-stage investor, has successfully closed its second Australian fund at $77 million, exceeding its initial goal by $17 million. The fund aims to invest in over 100 new pre-seed Australian startups, having already backed 40 ideas since May 2023, including platforms like Huddled and Fitflo.
The success of the fund’s launch will expedite the rollout of its Queensland program, set to begin in Brisbane in February 2025.
AI Startups continue to attract investment
Despite an overall decline in venture capital funding, AI startups raised $11.8 billion in Q3, representing 30% of total VC funding for the quarter. This figure, while lower than the previous quarter’s record of $29.6 billion, still marks the sixth-largest quarterly total in the sector’s history.
Year-to-date, AI startups have raised nearly $53 billion, reflecting a 35% increase compared to the entirety of 2023 and setting a new record for VC investments in AI.
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